The West Chicago Garden Club

By Ruth Kyme

If you are interested in making more plants for free, Dolly Foster’s program, Plant Propagation From Stem Cuttings, Layering, and Divisions, is for you. Propagating plants is one of the best garden practices to do, but propagating at home can be tricky.

This program will cover the procedures and pitfalls of propagating your own plants.

Dolly Foster, has been a Horticulturist for 25 years, and a Certified Arborist since 2008, she holds a Masters in Agriculture from U of I. For the past 25 years, Dolly has been presenting lectures on many gardening topics. She has been butterfly gardening from the very beginning of her gardening career. Her garden at home has been a Monarch Waystation since 2011. Dolly also runs a micro plant nursery at her home selling plants exclusively for pollinators June-October.

By Barbara Darrah

It’s a little difficult to write about Kruse this week. I’ve been out of the country for a week. When I left, the temperature was in the sixties. The daffodils were bursting out of the ground. Now they are covered with snow and it is well below freezing. Well, that is spring in the Midwest.

In Istanbul, it was early spring, but they had canceled their tulip festival and everything in the palace gardens was BIG – grasses, trees and ponds – so I am still missing our small ponds and flower filled borders.

During the last few weeks, the Kruse crew has met for coffee and discussions of this year’s plans. Because so many of us were traveling in March, we decided to postpone spring cleanup. What a good idea since everything is now covered with snow. However we will be back in April so if you have an hour or two on a Wednesday or Saturday morning, we would love to have you join us.

By Ruth Kyme

Our February speaker, Amy Powers, is a Garden Coach based near Chicago with a lifelong passion for gardening and nature. With a background in chemistry, IT consulting, and competitive sports, she combines science and coaching to help clients create thriving, sustainable gardens through in-person and virtual sessions. Amy is on a mission to teach everyone to get in touch with nature and learn how to manage their own landscape, from vegetables and herbs to trees and perennials.

Pruning can feel intimidating and downright scary. When should I prune? How much should I prune? What if I make a mistake? But Amy’s presentation, ‘Pruning: Don’t be Scared,’ breaks it down into clear, confidence-building guidance. Amy explains when, why, and how to prune trees, shrubs, and perennials to promote plant health, structure, and flowering.

Meeting Location: St Andrew Lutheran Church (NE Corner of Prince Crossing & Geneva Road.)

Meeting Time:

• 6:45PM Arrive & Mingle
• 7:00PM Business Meeting
• 7:15PM Program